IOC Tells Athletes To Tweet Away

The International Olympic Committee has determined that all athletes at next year's London Olympics can blog and Twitter away -- as long as it is not done for commercial purposes, Reuters reports. Any found posting X-rated content, however, could be booted from the Games.

In guidelines released by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) on Monday, the IOC "actively encourages and supports athletes ... to take part in 'social media' and to post, blog and tweet their experiences." Still, bloggers and tweeters must restrict themselves to "first-person, diary-type formats;" can't report on events in the manner of journalists; and must ensure their posts do not contain "vulgar or obscene words or images."

Another no-no will be broadcasting video or audio taken inside the venues and the Olympic, although athletes will be allowed to post videos taken outside the venues. As Reuters notes, "The IOC gets much of its revenue from the sale of television and online media rights and is therefore highly protective of their intellectual property in that regard."